ICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy, formerly known as the ICC KnockOut Trophy, is an international One Day International cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council and contested by international men's teams. Inaugurated in 1998, the Champions Trophy was established by the ICC as a short cricket tournament to raise funds for the development of the game in non-Test playing countries, contrasting with the mainstream Cricket World Cup, which had, at the time, existed for 23 years with six completed editions.
The first Champions Trophy was organised in Bangladesh in June 1998 and the next edition was held in Kenya in October 2000. These nationsboth ICC Associate memberswere chosen as hosts to increase the popularity of cricket and then use the funds collected for the continued development of the sport in those countries. From the 2002 tournament onwards, hosting has been shared between countries under an unofficial rotation system, with six ICC members having hosted at least one match in the tournament. The current format involves a qualification phase, which takes place in the preceding edition of the Cricket World Cup, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. The top eight ranked teams in the World Cup secure a berth for the tournament.
So far, a total of fourteen teams have competed in the nine editions of the tournament. India, who is the current champion after winning the 2025 edition, is the most successful team with three titles; Australia has won it twice; while South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan have won it once each. The 2002 edition was shared between India and Sri Lanka after the final ended in a no-result due to rain.
Overview
ICC KnockOut Trophy (1998–2000)
The first Cricket World Cup was held in 1975 and then every four years since. The World Cup was usually played by full ICC member nations. The ICC conceived the idea of the Champions Trophy: a short cricket tournament to raise funds for the development of the game in non-Test playing countries, with the first two tournaments being held in Bangladesh and Kenya.It was inaugurated as the ICC KnockOut Trophy, which was held in 1998 and 2000. The tournament's name was changed to the Champions Trophy before the 2002 edition.
ICC Champions Trophy (2002–2017)
Since 2002, the tournament has been held in full ICC member nations with the number of teams reduced to eight. The tournament, later dubbed the "Mini World Cup" as it involved all of the full members of the ICC, was planned as a knock-out tournament so that it was short and did not reduce the value and importance of the World Cup. However, from 2002, the tournament has had a round-robin format, followed by a few knockout games, but the tournament still takes places over a short period of time – about two weeks.The number of teams competing has varied over the years; originally all the ICC's full members took part, and from 2000 to 2004 associate members were also involved. Since 2009, the tournament has only involved the eight highest-ranked teams in the ICC ODI Rankings as of six months prior to the beginning of the tournament. The tournament has been held in 7 countries since its inception, with England hosting it thrice.
Up to 2006 the Champions Trophy was held every two years. The tournament had been scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2008 but was moved to South Africa in 2009 due to security reasons. From then on it has been held every four years like the World Cup.
There were calls to scrap the tournament after 2013 and 2017, with no tournament hosted in 2021. However, it was reinstated in 2025.
Revival and rebranding (2025 onwards)
On 13 November 2024, the ICC launched a refreshed visual identity with an unconventional typographic logo for the Champions Trophy with the release of a brand launch video. The new elements were accompanied by the distinctive white jackets which nod to the history of the Champions Trophy.Pakistan was announced as the host of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, however, due to India's refusal to travel to Pakistan for the tournament citing security concerns, the ICC in an update issued on India and Pakistan hosted matches at ICC events, following an agreement between BCCI and PCB, established that the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was played across Pakistan and a neutral venue in Dubai. The ICC board confirmed that India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC events between 2024 and 2027 would be played at a neutral venue. On 24 December 2024, the fixtures were announced along with the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, UAE as the neutral venue for the tournament.
Format
Qualification
In the first eight editions, the top teams in the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings qualified in the tournament.In the first 2 editions, a few pairs of teams played in the Pre-Quarter-finals to determine who would move on to the Quarter-finals. The number of teams was 9 in 1998, which was increased to 11 in 2000 and to 12 in 2002. In 2006, it was reduced to 10, with four teams playing in a qualifying round-robin from which 2 progressed to the main tournament. From the 2009 tournament onwards, the number further reduced to 8.
From the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy onwards, the top eight teams of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup will qualify for the event.
Tournament
The Champions Trophy differs from the World Cup in a number of ways. The matches in the Champions Trophy are held over a period of around two-and-a-half weeks, while the World Cup can last for over a month. The number of teams in the Champions Trophy are fewer than in the World Cup, with the latest edition of the World Cup having ten teams, whereas the latest edition of the Champions Trophy had eight.For 2002 and 2004, twelve teams played a round-robin tournament in four pools of three, with the top team in each pool moving forward to the semi-final. A team would play only four games to win the tournament. The format used in the KnockOut tournaments differed from the formats used in the Champions Trophy. The competition consisted entirely of a single-elimination tournament, with no pools and the loser in each game being eliminated immediately. Only eight games were played in 1998, and ten games in 2000.
Since 2009, eight teams have played in two pools of four in a round-robin format, with the top two teams in each pool playing in the semi-finals. Losing a single match potentially means elimination from the tournament. A total of 15 matches are played in the present format of the tournament, with the tournament lasting about two and a half weeks.
Hosts
England has hosted the tournament for the most times – 3 followed by Wales. Bangladesh, Kenya, Sri Lanka, India and South Africa have all hosted the tournament once each.Sri Lanka were the first host team to win the tournament, while also being the first home team to reach the final of the tournament. England reached the final two times, both on home soil, only to lose to winners West Indies and India respectively.
In 2021, the ICC announced the Future Tours Programme for the 2024–2031 cycle, announcing Pakistan as the host for the 2025 edition and India for the 2029 edition of the tournament.
Results
History
Fourteen nations have qualified for the Champions Trophy at least once. Seven teams have competed in every finals tournament. Seven different nations have won the title. South Africa won the inaugural tournament, India are the most successful team, having won three times. Australia has won two times, while New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan have each won once. Australia is the only nation to have won consecutive titles. Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, England and Ireland are the only ICC Full Member Nations not to win the Champions Trophy. England has reached the final twice, but lost both times, Bangladesh reached the semi-finals in 2017, while Zimbabwe has never got past the first round. The highest rank secured by an associate member nation is the 9th rank in first stage achieved by Kenya in 2000.Sri Lanka was the first and only host to win the tournament, in 2002, but they were declared co-champions with India as the final was twice washed out. England is the only other host to have made the final. It has achieved this twice – in 2004 and 2013. Bangladesh is the only host who did not take part in the tournament while hosting it, in 1998. Kenya in 2000, India in 2006, Pakistan in 2025, and South Africa in 2009 have been the only host teams that were eliminated in the first round.